Mishra said Besra was the “only active top-ranking CPI (Maoist) politburo member” and claimed the Maoist presence in the state had been “almost wiped out” following the arrest.
Ranchi: In a major anti-Naxal operation, Jharkhand Police on Wednesday announced the arrest of CPI (Maoist) politburo member Misir Besra from Dhanbad district, describing it as a significant breakthrough.
Director General of Police Tadasha Mishra said Besra, 65, carried a bounty of over ₹2.2 crore and was wanted in 175 cases across Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal. He was apprehended on Tuesday evening from the Maniadih area under Barwadda police station limits during Operation Daura Pahad.
Mishra said Besra was the “only active top-ranking CPI (Maoist) politburo member” and claimed the Maoist presence in the state had been “almost wiped out” following the arrest.
Two other Maoists, Mehnat alias Mochu, carrying a reward of ₹15 lakh, and Gaurav, were also arrested. Police said the three were wanted in a total of 320 cases.
According to officials, Besra, also known as Sagar Da and Bhaskar Da, joined the outfit in 1980 and became a central committee member in 2003. He was involved in expanding Maoist activities in Jharkhand and neighbouring states and in forming armed squads.
Inspector General (Operations) Narendra Singh said the trio were involved in several major incidents, including the 2005 Jehanabad jailbreak, attacks on security forces, bank robberies, looting of arms and IED blasts. “They were responsible for the deaths of more than 100 security personnel,” he said.
He said the group had killed 25 security personnel within two months in 2001, including 12 CRPF personnel in Hazaribag district, and later 13 JAP personnel in another attack.
Police said the three were attempting to revive Maoist activities in the Parasnath region. Security forces have launched further operations to trace an estimated 15-20 remaining Maoists in the state.
During the operation, security forces seized three AK-47 rifles, eight magazines and 288 cartridges. Two associates were also arrested.
Police said 44 Maoists have surrendered and seven arrested in the past three months. On Tuesday, 16 Maoists, including six carrying a combined bounty of ₹39 lakh, surrendered before Jharkhand Police.
Reacting to the arrest, Besra’s brother Devlal Besra said the family learnt of his apprehension late on Tuesday. “He has not come home since 1986-87. We have a nephew. We also had a niece, but she passed away. We had repeatedly appealed to him to return to the mainstream,” he said.
